In vitro studies on apogamy, apospory and controlled differentiation of rhizome segments of the fern, Ampelopteris prolifera (Retz.) Copel.

Apogamy was induced in the fern Ampelopteris prolifera by culturing the gametophytes on mineral nutrients supplemented with various concentrations of sucrose. Higher concentrations (5–8%) of sucrose were detrimental to prothallial growth, while in lower concentrations (2–3 %) apogamy was delayed. Gametophytic callus was induced from the germinating spores by culturing them on 2,4-D rich (3–5 mg/1) media. The differentiation of this gametophytic callus was conditioned by sucrose and auxin concentrations of the medium. In the presence of sucrose, calli responded like prothalli, while in the presence of 2,4-D, differentiation was delayed or completely inhibited. Apospory was induced on the sexual cotyledonary and juvenile sporeling leaveS. Leaves with petiole, excised from aseptically raised plants from excised cultured buds, also exhibited apospory, while no success was achieved with the excised leaves of the parent plantS. Rhizome segments of various length were cultured on media containing different concentrations of sucrose. The differentiation of rhizome segments into gametophytes or sporophytes was conditioned by the length of the rhizome segments and the sucrose concentration of the medium. The possible significance of all the results is discussed.